NEWPORT SAN DIEGO RACE |
AUGUST 4TH, 2001 |
We did our first off shore race on August 4th sailing from Newport beach to San Diego. It was a great day on the water and we did fairly well almost until the end. Regardless, though, we had a great time and saw hundreds of dolphin, a sunfish, and even a whale. Thanks to Jim Forbes and Jimmy Migliaccio, we were able to organize an excellent "guest crew" who did a great job for more than 14 hours on the water. For race results, click here.
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The race started at 11:00 AM off the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach. We started out fairly well with Russ Chandler at the helm and Jim Forbes calling tactics. Forbes was quick to notice the serpentine steering patterns of Chandler and offer his input. It became fairly obvious which boats we would be chasing most of the day: Masquerade the Choate 40 and the B-32 Defiance. |
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Jimmy M. took on his familiar position on main while Peter Charczenko aided Forbes and watched out that the inexperienced helmsman as he finally got the boat moving straight. We managed to keep close with Masquerade and Defiance most of the day and were gaining ground on the rest of the field throughout. |
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Guest trimmer and new crewmember Scott Harris stepped into pit and kept the halyards and topping lifts at the right level. |
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Amy Brozda did a great job on trim and had many good tactical as well as sail trim suggestions that helped us keep our speed up in persuit of the other boats in our class. She also helped out owner/cabin boy Chandler in the galley at times. |
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Peter took the helm and also managed to steer a straight course (straight into kelp later on, unfortunately) as guest main trimmer, Joel King, kept our shape. |
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We came down to San Diego Channel Marker 3 ahead of most of the boats we were competing against, but unfortunately, slowed to a crawl after that and watched in frustration as other boats passed us near the finish line. We even had to back wind ourselves to cross at one point as our momentum slowed to almost a stop and we were unable to complete our final tack and drifted to the wrong side of the committee boat!. |
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After more than six boats passed us in the last 1/4 mile, all we could do is laugh as we finally got enough momentum to cross at just after 1 AM. Despite the rather comical finish (at least it was dark!), it had been a great day altogether and will always remember the schools of dolphin and other sea life we saw earlier in the day. |
